T'is the season to be naked, Fa la la la la, la la la la~

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

This time he was going to get it right.

Not that he had anything to prove, but thanks to his job, he hadn't quite been there for Sivvy during the last festival. So this time, he was sure to get it right. He'd assigned his work to his subbordinates, and arranged the entire thing with Sivvy. Even got there early to make sure she wasn't waiting around for him. In his mind, Artemis was merely doing this as a means to make it easier for himself. The last thing he wanted was another tiff, his justification proving to him that there was clearly no other reason he was putting in all this extra effort, in spite of what others may have implied to him. That Sivvy was special, that she meant more to him than he let on. They couldn't understand that she was a special friend, that he would never allow himself to get excessively attached, would he? No, of course not. It just was Arty.

Still, as his stood at the ice rink, where he had texted her to meet him. His thumb idly brushing over the bracelet she had got him. Infact, with the exception of showering, he hadn't taken it off. Even with the occasional comment from members of his family who couldn't understand why a Dagger would wear something that as they would put it resembled 'costume jewellery'. But still, there was just something about the bracelet that stopped him from taking it off, the soft pulse he noticed from time to time, the fact that it was one of the few gifts he'd ever recieved that wasn't for the purpose of being flashy and impressive. It had a sentimental value to the Dagger Heir and so he'd grown attached.

---

Sivvy wasted no time answering his invitational text to the last festival of the year. Despite the Autumn debacle, the Spring one had been very enjoyable and she did very much enjoy his company. That was what she chalked her frenzied rush to get ready and be on her way to meet him to, at least. Make no mistake, she looked quite nice. Long ago she'd bought an oversized, white and blue striped sweater dress that she'd never had a chance to wear, so now she was. It came down to mid-thigh, where white leggings took the reigns and shielded the rest of her legs from the cold. A white scarf with little navy hearts accessorized with her furry white boots, and once all put together, she looked quite cute and ready to brave the wintery air. As she brushed her loose pink hair before she departed, she couldn't help but think about what good company he was and how much she was looking forward to today. Good thing she never dwelled on the intricate psychology of why she checked the heartbeat bracelet at least once a day or whenever she was feeling stressed and it soothed her. Looking deeper into some of her new behaviors concerning him would only confuse the clone, so subconsciously she ignored it and its implications.

Despite the modes of transportation making her queazy as always, once she was back on her feet in the familiar but snowy Rose Garden, she felt much better. Much improved over the last festival, too. Her energy levels were high, verging on jittery in the face of spending a fun, hopefully food-filled day with one of her favorite people. In fact, being back in the place they met was giving her a strange feeling. Nostalgia? That was an odd feeling to have when you weren't supposed to place value in frivolous things like where a friend was met, or where a good time was had. It seemed different from the definition of the word in some way, but she couldn't nail it down. Either way, the fact that they'd known each other for several months now dawned on her and left her somewhat surprised. Had it been that long already? The feelings that she'd known him much longer yet no time at all presented her with a curious contradiction, one that did trouble her logical mind until she saw him. The onslaught of confusing thoughts poofed like blowing on powdery snow as her carmine eyes rested on the man waiting by the ice rink, just like he'd said he would be. Despite the cold, Sivvy warmed on the inside. "Artemis," the clone greeted almost cheerfully as she drew near, her usual small smile instantly appearing on her lips. For mysterious reasons, she felt relieved. "Thank you for inviting me."

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

Ruby eyes would light up as he caught sight of her, offering a wave as she approached. It was certainly a relief to see her, mainly because she was smiling. Meaning, she was considerably happier than the last time they'd seen each other. The moment was still an awkward memory for the Dagger lad, he'd disappointed many girls in his lifetime. But normally, it was intentional, breaking things off with them for the sake of remaining single. Yet, he had wanted to disappoint Sivvy, quite the opposite in fact. So when it had resulted in ending up this way, the whole thing had let him unbelievable frustrated. "Hey Siv," There were times with Sivvy that despite the boundaries clearly stated by their 'friendship', he would forget himself, like now. As he reached down he would run his thumb over her cheek. "Are you warm enough?" He'd ask, the sweater dress was very cute on her, but he didn't want her to suffer the cold just to look nice. Besides, at this point he was sure she'd look nice in anything she wore, Sivvy was just one of those girls who seemed to be able to pull anything off. That and she was incredibly hot.

He glanced over to the ice rink, a grin forming on his face, "So how about it, wanna do a bit of skating? I'm not too shabby myself, although it's been a while so I can't guarantee not stacking it." He said with a chuckle, he used to go skating a lot during his teen years. It helped when you were able to rent out entire ice rinks for your own personal enjoyment. Plus for once it was the kind of 'fun' he parents had less reason to scold him for, although he had to give it to them, they certainly founds ways to try.

---

Once she finally tore her face with the slowly widening smile from the man caressing her cheek toward the activity he indicated, her brows lifted in interest. "Of course," she replied immediately, though she didn't comment on her own skill level. She couldn't. She'd never done it before.

Ice skating was a newer concept to Sivvy. Every winter she'd notice that jobs taken near frozen lakes would have the locals gliding across the ice in some metal shoes, some even making an oddly bewitching dance of it. She loved to dance, so she'd admired the whimsical style aided and affected by the slipperiness of ice, but she'd never tried it herself. Either she had been too busy working, or just didn't allow herself the chance. Enjoying things was taboo, so she'd only really been allowing herself the chance to do things she liked in the last year or so. Walking over to where the skate rentals were, she examined how ice skates mechanically worked and produced her own blade with her magic on the bottoms of her boots. She'd have no problem with this. She'd learned to move in various terrains and conditions. And if anyone knew how metal worked on solid ice, it'd be an Iron Dragon Slayer. Sivvy wasn't clumsy, and honestly, she was chomping at the bit to finally try out the ice dancing, completely confident in her skills as usual.

She would be masterful. She was 7! Lopper of heads and executioner of dark mages! Razer of entire dark guilds! Fluent linguist of nearly every active language known to Earthland man as well as a few dead languages! Weapons expert and martial arts expert! Experimental clone! Sivvy, the slayer of dragons!

New Weakness Discovered: Ice Skating.

Perhaps it was her own hubris that lead to this moment, but as soon as she put her blade to the ice, everything went wrong. She must have kicked off too powerfully, sending her wobbling on one blade, barely able to keep herself from tumbling. Once she recovered a smidge of balance, her other blade met the ice and she slowed, arms out for balance. Okay. That wasn't what she was expecting. Peering down at her bladed feet, it started to occur to her that this wasn't what she had been trained for. Attempting to take a step like walking had both feet sliding back and forth, threatening her balance again. Eyes snapped up and darted around to more closely observe the other patrons. Using the serrated front-tip of the blade to propel the dormant foot forward seemed to be how everyone started a step. She tried it, though her other foot instead slipped out from under her, dumping Sivvy onto the cold ice.

So there she sat when her butt finally slid to a stop, her legs out in front of her and her face very obviously shocked and bewildered. She...she was bad at this!

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

The feel of her skin under his thumb was enough to confirm that she was okay, although it didn't mean he wasn't going to be conscious in case she did start to shiver. He lowered his hand to his side, he nodded, wearing a smile that reflected hers. As she agreed to his suggestion, he would head along with her to the ice rink, he watched curiously as she manifested her own pair of skates. Before going ahead and rented his own, he unfortunately couldn't use his magic in such a creative and useful manner as she, his magic was only designed to cause suffering. As they made their way onto the ice, Artemis took a few minutes to gain his bearings, it didn't take long for him to remember what he was doing. After testing a turn, he rounded to see how Sivvy was doing, only to see her plonked down on the ice, looking rather surprised at the circumstance. He chuckled, before skating over to her, "Take my hands," He instructed her pulling attempting to pull her to her feet. "Hold my hand, I'll guide you," He told her softly, intertwining his fingers with hers before gently easing her along. "It's a little tough but it just takes a little time to get used to balancing your weight between the skates, don't worry everyone needs a little practice at first," he told her, guiding her along.

The issue was, Artemis, whilst a decent skater was clearly no Olympian level ice dancer, barely making to skate backwards as it was. When a gaggle of excited school kids, brushed past him, his own balance was knocked off. Causing him to reel backwards, pulling Sivvy down with him. He wheezed slightly as his rear and spine hit the ice hard, taking a breath before looking down at Sivvy, who had somehow ended up with his arms wrapped round. Probably an attempt to cushion her fall. He grinned down at her, before pressing his head back against the ice and laughing. "Told you I'd probably stack it.

---

"I...don't understand..." she said with mild frustration, tinging on something like embarrassment. Of course, she wouldn't know it was embarrassment even if it was since she'd never felt it before. Even as she rose and took his hands, legs wobbling like a newborn giraffe's, it was evident it irked her that she wasn't good at something so benign. He was trying to comfort her, but it didn't lift the small pout threatening her lips. As he skated backward, it was all she could do to slide forward with both skates on the ice and perfectly parallel. How was he shifting and angling his feet in the right way going the opposite direction and she couldn't even lift a foot without her whole body jerking around, trying to find balance?

Here she was, thinking he had it all down, then suddenly it was evident he didn't. Sivvy had been so focused on trying to mimic his swaying and the way his feet moved that the bunch of kids escaped her notice. All she knew was that her already weak grip on her balance fell away and she was pulled forward, wrapped in his arms as they both fell. At least this fall was cushioned, namely by Artemis's entire body that had curled around her. After the initial jar, she felt him move a loosen his grip, so she placed her hands on his chest and pushed herself up a little, straddling her legs clumsily (the blades on her shoes added an awkward amount of weight) on each side of him, essentially sitting on his middle. He appeared to knock some of the wind out of himself, and his laughing alarmed her a bit in this context. "Did you hit your head?" she asked sharply, leaning forward to reach a hand into his dark red locks, feeling for blood at the back. Her concern seemed unwarranted wound wise once her hand came back clean and dry, but a concussion was completely possible. Ice was very hard and slipping only added to the momentum that his body would impact the ground.

On that note, since her face was now pretty much directly above his, her carmine eyes peered down into his to check the size of his pupils to further her diagnostic. By those it seemed as if he might actually be ok, but she lingered there, gazing down into his pleasant face. His features really were nice. Appealing. If anything, the clone's own pupils dilated at the sight of him in this unusual position, because even someone as precisely controlled as she could do nothing in the face of involuntary physiological responses.

Sivvy was feeling something similar to the magnetism she felt for things she really wanted while out shopping. When something caught her eye that she really liked, she'd often stare at it for a few moments, touch it, smell it, really soak up all the things that made her feel warm inside before being unable to resist buying it and taking it home. This magnetism was familiar, so it was something she hardly noticed until it registered that she'd been very still and sitting on Artemis for a few long moments, simply staring at him and noticing how nice he smelled, her hands ever so slightly tightening as if she was going to grip his clothes.

When she did finally notice, she made the connection but instantly rejected it and instead thought more literally of metals being drawn to each other and that that was what this was like, following her emotion suppression training. With her iron dragon slayer, she knew the physical feeling all too well. However, there was no metal involved here, and it was a little lost on her how she could connect such magnetism between internal feelings and people. With confusion snapping her out of her little spell, she quickly got off him and somehow managed to fumble back to her bladed feet. Digging her toes into the ice, she offered her hand to try and help him up, though the odds of success were very low since it was hard to just stand on her own.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

Her question of concern drew her ruby gaze back to her, his smile soft, "No, I'm okay," He told her in a reassuring tone, yet by this point her fingers were already in his hair. His eyes locked onto hers, her face was so much closer now, he could feel her breath. His strong demonic gaze could count every one of her lashes and map out the flecks in her carmine eyes. She was staring, just as he was, the edges of his lips curved upwards slightly. "Sivvy," He said softly, the name uncertain on his tongue. His pulse quickened as her fingers clawed at his clothes. Under different circumstances, he could understand this scenario, with any other girl it would be different. He could make a move, close the distance. Yet, as much as he wanted to close the space between them. To pull her close and press his mouth to hers, he could not allow himself to do so. Because in the back of his mind he could still hear her response to him on the night they first met. How she had interpreted him, he couldn't allow her to think of him like that, to feel obliged to reciprocate on the grounds that she had no choice. If she wanted something to happen, than Artemis had promised himself that he would not act on any temptations unless SHE initiated it. And whilst occasionally, like in moments such as the one they would in he would feel like she just might want more from him, she would pull away. Every time, without fail.

So when she did pull away, his chest sunk only slightly, he'd expected that but it still didn't make him any less frustrated. They were, after all, just friends. Once she was up, he climbed to his feet, declining her offer of a helping hand just in case he might accidentally pull her off of her feet again. Once he was straight, he skated to her side, offering his hand. This time he would skate by her side instead, meaning if at any point he felt off balance he could let go without dragging her down. It also meant, if she seemed like she was going to fall, he could dig his metal blade into the ice and stop her from going down. He said nothing about the moment they shared, not wanting to push his luck. He decide to just take it for what it was, a pleasant moment.

After a while of skating, the pair would move on from the ice rink, Artemis returned his skates to the desk, before turning to Sivvy. "Well aside from the bruises that was fun," He jested, "Shall we go see what else the festival has to offer?" He asked before beginning to trek once more through the snowy garden. As he moved along, he spotted another fun activity, one the rosette might fair a little better out. Pointing at the frozen t-shirt contest, he turned to her. "That looks like a riot, why don't we give it a go? We could make it interesting to, say whoever's faster can treat the other to some hot chocolate?" He added the last part with a waggle of his brows, knowing full well that if anything could convince her girl to partake in such silliness, it was food.

---

Skating with him gradually became a little easier, but she never did quite take to it like she had learning those exotic dances back at Club Maria. No matter how many laps they took, her legs and balance still wobbled if she tried to do it on her own, though she did get down the foot movements at least. Sivvy did stop being so uptight about it after their little fall, though. She was oddly content to hold his hand as they glided across the ice at varying degrees of success, and though she didn't speak of it either, her mind was still snapping over it like bewildered bees around a new hive. Maybe she'd ask Amalie about it later.

While she did nod in agreement that skating with him had become its own strange brand of fun, as did most things they did together, the clone was never so glad to be back on solid ground. Well, besides getting out of nausea-inducing vehicles, that is. As usual, her hand easily slipped back into his as it always did these past few months. She had no trouble initiating it herself as if it was just this expected interaction that had become as natural as breathing. Just being like this while meandering through the snow-covered roses in bloom was enough for her to feel this outing was a success until he came to a stop and mentioned the one thing they were missing.

Food, of course, was the perfect motivator, as he knew full well. She'd do nearly anything for food. Honestly, she didn't care who paid for whose food. She'd gladly pay for his if it meant trying some of the local winter treats, but she wasn't above a little competition for it. Once she'd have thought of such a thing as trivial and pointless, electing to skip it unless it was expressed that the person she was trying to please wanted to. Now she had developed to a point where she could see the fun in measuring up useless skills against someone else's useless skills in the name of a game. Did she want to win? Of course! Sivvy looked for any way to prove her usefulness and skill to those around her. She could just be a little light-hearted with it now depending on the situation.

Watching his brows waggle curiously, she mirrored it back at him to some degree of success. A small smile accompanied it. "Deal," she agreed, turning to the man running the game for instructions. She wouldn't pull another faux pas as she had with the apple bobbing. This time she wanted to understand so the terms would be even. However, it turned out to be simple. A shirt had been wadded up and frozen. Using any means necessary, it needed to be melted and unraveled, then put on to win. The start time was called, and the serious ambassador tore into the shirt, manifesting a mini-blowtorch to try and gently heat the folds and coax them apart! With Sivvy, it was all or nothing!

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

Watching her mimic his eyebrow waggle cause him to let out a laugh, amused by her willingness to partake in a little silliness with him. As they stepped up to the podium, Artemis gathered his shirt, he had to admit he liked the concept. He'd partaken in wet t-shirt contests, even hosted a few, but never had he had a go at this version of the game. He glanced over at Sivvy, offering her a little competitive wink, just as the game began. He turned his gaze to his frozen shirt, his hands working quickly in an attempt to unravel the shirt. Rubbing his hands against the iced fabric, luckily his skin was tougher than most, allowing him to handle the cold a little better than some might. It didn't mean it wasn't tough, gritting his teeth, his attempted to pry the shirt open. Only to be met with the loud sound of a crack!

He paused in his work, eying the shirt in shock. He'd only gone and snapped the thing in half!  He didn't even consider that as a possibility when working on the thing. Panicking he grabbed both pieces, rubbing them enthusiastically ibn a manner that was embarrassingly suggestive. Anyone looking at the guy probably would have thought he looked ridiculous, Del would have undoubtedly been cracking up at the sight of his Chairman methodically stroking the frozen parts in such a manner. He brought his face close to them, breathing on them heavily, hoping his hot breath might loosen the shirts. After quite the grind he felt them begin to loosen up. Hastily, he threw off his own coat, ripping his shirt off his body in one fluid motion that would reveal his bare chest and toned body to the audience. Not that he cared, hurriedly, he would peel the shirts open, it looks like he had a neck hole and a sleeve on one side, with an armhole and the remainder of the waist of the shirt in the other. He put the latter one first, cursing as the cold fabric fell upon his chest, then scrambled awkwardly into the settle piece. One only, he let out a happy cheer, before looking around at Sivvy to see how she'd faired. It seemed in this case, he was the winner. He offered her a consolatory grin, his eyes roaming over her in a brief flicker of weakness, before moving to peel the horribly cold fabric off of his body.

Picking up his clothes, he quickly returned his shirt to his body, wrapping his jacket around himself once more. "Brrr, I think it's a good time for that hot chocolate huh," He remarked, still shaking the chilly feeling of the iced shirt on his bare skin. He guided Sivvy over to the nearby hot-chocolate stand, ordering himself a white-choc hot drink topped with whipped cream and white chocolate star-shaped sprinkles. He took a soft sip, earning himself a cream stache as he looked at Sivvy once more. "The games here are decent, what shall we do next?" He said looking around, he spotted another activity, something he hadn't done since he was a kid. "Oh we can build a snowman if you want, I used to love that. My siblings and I always competed to build the best, I feel like mine was the best, they would disagree. Especially Perce, boy genius was always good at making things. How about it?" He said looking back at her with a sweet yet still somewhat frothy grin.

---

In the beginning, she was certain she'd win. She had a much hotter heat source than he did. Her plan, she thought, was sound. Using the torch to melt the ice, it did indeed start to slowly unfurl. Her fingers were meticulous, prodding, tucking, bending as the torch did its magic. Then she heard a crack. Peeking over, she saw that his shirt had broken! A wicked smirk appeared on her lips, and feeling a little full of herself, she tried to bend a piece of shirt before it was ready. The sleeve cracked right off in her hand, much to her alarm.

As she glanced over at him again, her chest tightened in the strangest way. It wasn't like she was in medical danger, but it wasn't an entirely pleasant sensation. It was like a pang went through her whole body, somehow sharp and dull at the same time. There wasn't a single part of her body she didn't feel it in, and after the pang, the tightness and the ache would settle into her chest and throat. She swallowed hard. If she hadn't felt something similar but much lighter than this before, like when she ran into circumstances where she couldn't have something she really wanted, the clone would have been way more alarmed. But no, while she didn't understand the sensation, this particular strength of it was entirely reserved for him For Artemis. She couldn't predict when it'd happen. Sometimes it was when he wasn't around for a long time. Sometimes it was something he did when they were together, like right now.

He was just frantically rubbing the pieces of the shirt in the most ridiculous way, and with such seriousness. Sivvy couldn't help but giggle, much like she had while they were dancing so long ago now. She still hadn't quite found her full laughter, since her sense of humor was still developing, but watching him had been enough to crack her stoic shell for the moment. It was...cute and silly like watching a determined puppy try to pick up a bone much too large for its body.

Speaking of body, suddenly she was seeing more of his. Before she realized it, he had melted the two pieces and was ripping the clothing of his top half to put it on. Her eyes widened and she looked back to her own shirt...which was now on fire in one spot. What happened? How had she just stood there, holding the torch to the shirt in one spot like that? Sivvy blinked aggressively, trying to reconcile the time she'd seemingly lost. Frantically she patted out the flames, melting the last parts of the ice to try and catch up, but it was too late. He let out a whoop and looked over at her, and there she stood, holding a charred shirt and a separate pristine sleeve. And even though she'd lost and was quite disappointed, she couldn't help but return his grin with a smile of her own.

Indeed, hot chocolate did sound wonderful. Not just because it was food, but because her fingers were an angry red from so much contact with the icy fabric. After he made his delightful choice, she ordered the same and paid for both, as was the deal. At first, the hot drink's cup burned her frigid hands, but with a bit of endurance, the prickly pains subsided and proper feeling returned to her digits. She sipped the smooth, sweet liquid with relish. "Mmm," she hummed, having a small whipped cream mustache of her own.

Arty made another suggestion, and again, it sounded amusing. "Snow...man?" she asked in interest, scanning for the area to do such a thing. "I've never made one. Also, this is the first time you've mentioned you have siblings," noted the lab-created human, briefly thinking of her own countless 'sisters', none of which she had any lighthearted memories with as Artemis seemed to have. Sometimes she noticed how wide the cavern between her and normal people was. At least she didn't have to dwell on it since, sure enough, her eyes landed on a nearby banner over an empty field of snow read "Snowman Contest!" Heading over that way, soon the pair would stand amongst the thick, undisturbed snow.

She was about to ask Artemis to teach her, which would be par for the course this day. He'd had to try and teach her to skate. He'd beaten her at the frozen T-shirt contest. And now she had no idea how to construct a man out of snow and would probably have to show her. Or...maybe not. Not too far away there was a small child working in the snow with her friend. Sivvy learned many things by just watching, so for a few moments, she stood still, analyzing the children's work. Three rolled balls of snow, each slightly smaller than the bottom one. It looked like no man she'd ever seen, but it was probably simple for a reason. So children or people of any skill level could do it for fun, most likely. It was also slightly more structurally sound this way.

Once she had the idea, she began working on her own. In about a minute she had the three balls and they were stacked, but she paused at the decoration. Were there designated rules for what a snowman must look like? The only thing she could tell is it needed eyes, a nose, a mouth, and arms. She made a couple thin, metal rods with three fingers to mimic the gnarled branches the kids used as arms, jamming them into the middle ball of snow. Next, she formed a handful of metal pellets, using two for eyes, one for a nose, and the rest to form a straight line for a mouth. In the end, the snowman seemed to be a subconscious reflection of Sivvy's human condition. Robbed of the whimsy and imagination of childhood. Raised in a sterile, cold environment. The snowman was just as bare, stoic, and weapon-like as she was, but she seemed dissatisfied with it. Perhaps in representation of her slow growth or desire to break free of her old self, she made a set of metallic horns and wings, attaching them at the last minute to the snowman's head and back. Of course, she'd try to make it into a dragon. Yes, it was weird. Possibly the most awkward snowman ever made. But still, Sivvy seemed pleased with it now, turning to inspect Arty's and potentially get his approval of her first attempt.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

As she agreed to try the last little event, they would make their way over. Artemis found a little mound of untampered snow to work with, answering her as he began to work. "Have I not? Ahh yeah, I have two, my older sister Pandora, and a younger brother Perseus, although I call them Pan and Percy. Seems I would be the problematic middle child!" He said with a laugh, thinking of his siblings fondly. In a family like his, his siblings meant a lot to Artemis. He reached up, realising hed a cream stache, he would lip his lip hastily, wiping away the rest with his hand. He found a flat surface to place his drink down on in the meantime.

"They're a good pair, probably the only people in my family I actually care about. Pandora has her own life with her husband so I don't see her around much, she isn't tied down by family obligation so she was free to leave to do her own thing. It sucks cause it means I don't get to see her as much as I'd like but what can you do, and Percy well, Percy's my man. He's like freakishly good with technology and kind of... shy I guess is the word for it. But I... well I couldn't ask for a better little bro, and we have a good laugh," There was a layer of pride in his voice before he knew it he realised he'd started rambling about them. Something he rarely did, although maybe that was because most of the company he shared never took any interest in his family, certainly not his siblings, they often showed more interest in his wallet.

"Er... sorry I didn't mean to babble on." He commented, not sure if she really wanted to listen to this. Sivvy's circumstances were after all severely different to his own, a question wandered into his mind, he hesitated before asking. "You said before, that you had sisters. Were you close to them?" He asked delicately, he didn't really know how families growing up in laboratories existed. Did they even engage in light-hearted play? Or was it all work, training and experimentation? He didn't want to pry to the point of making her uncomfortable. But also, a part of him wanted to know more about her.

In the meantime, he had put together his classic SnowLady, having taken the normal mould of a snowman and then shaped in feminine curves and rather pretentiously sized snow-boobs. Her twig arms positioned in a way that suggested she was posing for a picture. It was a stupid snowman, most certainly not a winner but it definitely had character, and certainly might put a smile on the faces of those who saw it. He turned to look at Sivvy, "Whoa, that's awesome Siv! I thought you said you'd never made one before, this is great!" He told her as he walked around her snowman to admire her work. He moved over to where his drink was, scooping it up, he would finish off the remains of its now luke-warm contents.

"Nice, so shall we move o-" Before he could suggest they look for more fun things to do, there was a sudden uproar in the distance that caught his attention. Cutting his sentence short, he turned to see people fleeing. A sense of nostalgia filled the take-over mage, something like this has happened at a festival before. "Hey Siv, I think we're needed." He said to her, moving out of the section in which they were building the snowman, he picked up the pace, running toward what appeared to be the source of the chaos. Monsters everywhere, scorpions, snow brutes, elementals and... was that a yeti? A grin forming on his lips, Artemis stretched out his fingers, black orbs of magic pooling into his palms. It looked like they had found their next event.

---

Though maybe he thought she was disinterested, quite the opposite was actually true. Sivvy listened intently to him speak about his siblings, trying to frame their relationship in her mind. He was so proud of them. What must it have been like to grow up 'normal'? She filed the names Pandora and Perseus into her memory, hoping to one day meet them. Seeing Artemis interact with them was something she very much wanted to see. Were they like him? Did they look like him? Well, she knew they wouldn't look exactly like him. True siblings manifested different traits of the parents, perhaps looking similar but not identical like her and her 'sisters'. She found that fascinating.

Artemis asked her about her own sisters, but then interrupted himself with compliments about her snowman. Her face brightened in his praise. "Thank you!" she chirped, emoting her happiness a bit. If there was one thing Sivvy loved, it was doing something well enough to please someone else. Her carmine eyes then shifted to have a look at his and she had to cover her mouth to resist giggles again. The outlandish proportions and pose caught her off guard, and after exhaling a couple times through her nostrils to fight down the wave of amusement, she was able to lower her hand and speak. "I like yours too. It's very shapely."

Now that they'd finished that fun activity and reclaimed their drinks, Sivvy gulped down what was left of hers so she could be rid of the cup. Then she planned to get back to the question he'd asked her, but the noises ahead caught her sensitive hearing as well. "I'll have to tell you about my sisters later," the clone commented, her voice sharply shifting into a serious tone. Looking ahead, she saw the same chaos that he did, bursting ahead to try and get there before anyone was seriously hurt. Taking stock of the gaggle of monsters, Sivvy analyzed the targets for the highest threat. That would be the one she took, and within seconds it was clear. The yeti was the most dangerous. It was smart. It moved and attacked quickly, using any means necessary for maximum carnage. It's long fans chomped at any living thing that got within range, and should it be at a slight distance it would use its massive fists to try and crush it. Rightly so, most people gave it a while berth as they ran from the other tormentors, so it resorted to ripping up and hulking huge chunks of frozen ground, making it hazardous to escape.

"I'm going for the biggest one," she called out to Artemis, not waiting for his reply. "Be careful," added the powerful mage, and just like that, she was gone. Strong legs rocketed her into the air and onto one of the ice elementals that had stabbed through a lady's coat and pinned her to the ground. She was screaming as the icy creature loomed and tried to freeze her solid with its breath, but soon it was nothing but a stepping stone for Sivvy. As she kicked off its head, it's frozen body exploded into powdery snow, freeing the woman beneath it as well. Higher into the air she sailed though she was now looking at a huge mass of earth hurling her way. The yeti had spotted her. Good. It would focus on her from now on. Readying a metallic fist, she punched her way through the boulder, using a piece of it as yet another jumping point. Now the ambassador was high overhead and coming down on him fast. With a burst of magic she descended upon him in the blink of an eye, meeting his fist with her own scaley metal one. Dust and snow kicked up all around them as he was pushed down into the ground, making a crater. Then came the sickening squelch of flesh and blood. However, the yeti's other hand whipped out and backhanded her despite his roars of pain, sending her small frame whizzing out of the dust and into the fresh snow several meters away.

When visibility was restored, the beast stood with nothing but a ragged, bloody stump where its right arm used to be. Sivvy stood up from her landing spot, a little surprised he'd broken the second-skin shield her Draconic Gift bestowed her. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but she didn't seem too hurt. If anything, she was more determined to end this quickly. The furry behemoth was way too strong to be left alive near the general public, or even most mages. Her mind was wrapped in a flurry of thought, mirroring the snowflakes that had started to fall from the thick clouds overhead. These weren't creatures that would converge on a festival together on their own. Her logical deduction was that someone or something had sent them here. This was only reinforced by the fact that, to her knowledge, every other festival this year had also been attacked by a bizarre combination of elemental creatures. Something was going on here.

Spitting some of the tinny liquid from her mouth, Sivvy requipped an oversized, golden spear that looked like a clock hand from an ornate clocktower somewhere. It was on an exquisite golden chain that floated behind her, mixing with the new blue auras swirling about. Drawing her arm back, she catapulted it to the injured Yeti in the blink of an eye. Without time to react, the creature took it directly to the chest but still seemed to have some fight left in him. With his one arm, he grabbed the chain and yanked her forward, looking forward to catching her in his teeth to shred her. The clone sailed through the air toward an open maw, but just before she reached it, she fired a spike from her hand into the ground which slightly changed her trajectory. Now swinging around the beast, she used her momentum to wrap the chain around his neck as she went. It was over now. Once the chain was layered twice over, she began to use her formidable physical strength to pull it tighter and tighter, choking the Yeti until crack! It slumped forward dead.

Riding the beast down to the ground, her weapon disappeared back into the dimension it came from and her feet met the cold ground again. Scanning the area, Sivvy checked for the status of her preferred company, hoping he was fairing alright as well.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

Artemis nodded as Sivvy told him her target, a part of him might have protested, but he had seen Sivvy's skills firsthand in the past. She could handle herself. "You too babe," He replied, before drawing his attention to the magic within him. Alright Morte, no screwing around this time. You in the mood for a little monster crushing? He felt the sinister presence of the demon creep forward, excitement festering within the creature. Always. He purred in response, Artemis took a breath.

Good, but none of that shit like you pulled with my brother, this time I stay in control. You hear me? He thought, his anger at the memory of the demon's angry still very much present.  What ever do you mean? Are you not ready to show your little lady the real you? Fine, I'll behave today, you have my word. Besides, I'd much rather drag this out a little longer... makes the reveal more satisfying don't you think? Artemis didn't respond instead he marched forward, straight toward the belly of the beasts as it we're. He manipulated his orbs, the swirled around him before circling forth straight into the face of a snow brute. His eyes focused on the surroundings, spotted the scurrying of ice scorpions that rush to his feet. With a roar, he pulled his arms up the action summoning giant mounds of stalagmites, the lethal bone points tearing through the scorpions at once, as well as trapping the feet of the snow brute he'd hit earlier. Stretching out his palms, long, black tendrils began to sprout forth, stretching from his each hand into lengthy whips. Throwing them back, he lassos them forth, wrapping them around the snow brute. Then once the creature was bound, he pulled them tighter. It was only a matter of seconds before the whips tore through the creature's body entirely.

There was a sharp pain in his leg suddenly, he roared, looking down he spotted one of the spears being wielded by one of the ice elementals. Looking up, he spotted the remaining two, closing in. Readjusting the grip on his thorns of purgatory, he threw them forth, catching both of the elementals at once. Yanking the down, he grounded both of the monsters, before summoning a horde of black orbs that showered down on them relentlessly until nothing but crushed ice remained. He glanced around, checking to see if any monster remained, he was quickly pleased to learn that this seemed to be all of them. He sighed, looking down at the spear in his leg, reaching down he would grip it's middle, gritting his teeth, the fingers of his free hand clenched. With a forceful pull, he tore the thing out of thigh, grunting through gritted teeth. Luckily it hadn't pierced too deep, the take-over mage had endured much greater wounds than this. The entirety of his eyes would turn black, his magic shifting through him sending healing magic to his leg, which quickly began repairing itself. Severed flesh seemingly sowing itself back together, until the surface wore nothing but blood-stained skin, the flesh unmarred by the wound.

He tested the leg, it was a little stiff, as it always felt after healing, but otherwise in mint condition. His black eyes searched for Sivvy, spotting her, he rushed over, glancing at the now-dead Yeti she had fallen. "You okay? Do you need healing?" He asked, his schlera's still black with magic as he looked down at her. "That was something huh, you know, I think we've earned ourselves a hot meal? What say you?" He suggested, grinning at her. The black, almost like ink, seeping from his eyes returning them to yheir usual white and ruby shades.

---

Sivvy shook her head as she turned from the furry body to face Artemis properly. "I'm fine. He just got me in the face," she informed him as if the face was the least important place on her body in a fight, which arguably to her, it was. Having an injured limb was much worse. The only time the face was bad was if it hindered breathing, vision, or consciousness, none of which had happened here. All she had was a little tenderness in her left cheek and corner of the mouth, which still trickled a little blood down her chin. She used the back of her sweater's sleeve to wipe it away, which was a bit uncharacteristic. Normally she'd use her metallic threads to form some sort of handkerchief over sullying some of her purchased clothes, but honestly, using her metal dragon slayer magic in the winter was highly unpleasant. The touch of the metal in any capacity to her skin chilled it to the bone and threatened to give her hypothermia. Even coating her skin with the subtle dragon scales caused a lot of pain over time, which is probably another reason the Yeti managed to draw her blood. Perhaps it would behoove her to train magic that didn't rely on the metal element or metal weapons.

More interesting to her than the dead yeti or her own small injury was Artemis's eyes. Sivvy almost froze in surprise when she saw them, but managed to not register too much of her shock. She thought she'd sensed some magic from him while they both fought, but also thought she might be getting her wires crossed with the magic of an enemy. As far as she knew, Artemis had displayed no magic in all the times they'd been together and fought together at these festivals. The red wine haired man had always just used his fists. Now he was asking if she needed healing and had different eyes. Curious. It was indisputable that he had magic now. The black scleras were something new to her where he was concerned, but not new overall. Carmine eyes flashed in recognition and something deep within her rumbled in a strange way she didn't understand. Her own curiosity was peaked, but she also suddenly felt unable to stop herself. It was an urge so strong, it even derailed her from his offer of food. Ask him, the voice of her sage friend urged her, or at least she thought her friend had. Sivvy didn't see her anywhere.

"Your eyes are like Johann's," the clone pointed out bluntly, even as the black receded. The only other black sclera eyes she'd ever seen belonged to her mentor, a fact that had always brought up the same curiosity and unease within her as now. Sivvy couldn't claim to know a lot about this condition, but it was clear she wasn't scared of it, even though she'd fought Johann's...whatever it was before and saw what he was capable of. What was it? An angel? A demon? Something in-between? The science project was a bit lost on the supernatural and had never had a chance to ask for clarification. By all rights of what she read, she presumed it was simply what most would call a demon. "His is named Mars. I've never seen you do this before, though. Were you hiding it?" asked the pinkette next, tilting her head a bit to the left. It didn't occur to her that this subject might make him uncomfortable, or even be a misunderstanding on her part. She was just honest as usual and rolled with her observations. "What's your's name?"

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

---

Her words quickly made him realise that he had been careless, as she spoke of Johann, her colleague, and his darkened eyes in comparison to his own. He realised that his magic was something she was familiar with, uncertainty and panic filled him. He never spoke of his magic fully, not if he could help it. He'd only told two people about the true nature of his 'gift', one of them was Perseus, which was a situation forced upon him by Morte. The other person he had willingly told in an attempt to be honest, and then she ended up dead. If he knew anything, he knew that little good came from knowing about Morte. The less he could be tempted by, the better. But then again, this was Sivvy.

As he looked into her honest, bright carmine eyes, he began to wonder about the possibility of her knowing. From her words she seemed to understand that it was demonic, perhaps she was even used to his magics dark nature. Hope flickered momentarily in his crimson eyes, perhaps if she understood what he was dealing with. Then maybe she could accept him, if that was the case then maybe he could find a way to excel his control over Morte. So that he would do her no harm, it seemed worth a shot, and despite his desire to protect her. He felt that lying would only prove to push her away, something about the way she was looking at him in this moment, made him feel as though he couldn't bring himself to deceive her. Not Sivvy. It was fine, he didn't have to tell her everything, a name would do. Yet, as he lips parted, and the word threaten to leave him a strange coolness spread over his body. His voice felt constricted, as if not longer under his control. And the name that left his lips was not the one he intended to say.

"Zaebros." The voice was his, the accent, the tone, it all sounded exactly like him. But it wasn't, his words were not being spoken by Artemis. But by Morte, "I wouldn't say I was hiding it, I just prefer to fight without magic. More fun that way. Zaebros is just a low-level demon who's magic I claimed for my own." He couldn't stop the words from leaving him, and whilst on the inside he was filled with panicked fury as he fought Morte's control. On the outside he would appear as calm as always, as though they were having a simple conversation. What are you doing? Why are you telling her this? Who is Zaebros? He thought angrily.

Trust me boy, no good will come of telling an associate of Mars who I am. Not unless you want to end up worse than dead. Artemis would then feel the control return to him, and the demons influence faded once more. Artemis tried not to let his panic show, instead he smiled. He didn't know what Morte was doing, but he knew that if he tried to tell Sivvy what had happened, the demon would take control again. Perhaps even try and punish him for it. And whilst he didn't know much about Morte's reasoning, he was able to pick up one thing. Something about this Mars character worried him, and that was very interesting. Maybe he could do something about it, maybe if he could get Sivvy to figure out things on her own they could do something about his situation. Although this wasn't going to be easy, everything he did, and thought of Morte knew. He needed to find a way to separate their minds first, and then maybe he would have a shot.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat." He commented, taking her hand, he would begin to lead her along through the festival. His strong nose scent sifting out for the closest food stall, he would quickly pick up the scent of pulled pork and stead sandwiches. A stall selling all sort of traditional Minstrel Market delicacies, as he led her over to it, he would quickly find something that he wanted. He wasn't feeling especially hungry, something about Morte's control staining his appetite, but he would order regardless not wanting to worry his company. "I'll have a pulled pork burger please, what would you like Siv?"

---

As usual, her carmine hues met and explored his own as he spoke, displaying an innocence she had no right to possess. Considering all she had done in her life at the behest of Dr. Raelin before she happened to meet Johann and even the things she'd done since becoming a member of Dies Irae, it was unusual for a person who could behead someone as easily as she butters toast to be able to possess such naivety and trust. Sivvy was keenly interested in learning about this part of Artemis. "Ah, Zaebros," accepted the pinkette without even batting an eye. She had no reason to think Artemis or the demon within would have any reason to lie to her, so with her blind trust she just assumed everyone was as honest as she was until she was proven wrong. "And I understand the thrill of just using physical combat," Sivvy nodded, "I do that sometimes as well, just to check my progression. I did a job in the Neutral Grounds once and realized quickly that sole reliance on magic is unwise," she clarified, then simply dropped the subject soon after. To her, everything had been said.

Food was mentioned again, so naturally, that was all that consumed her thoughts now. His festival date had no objection to finding something to eat. Not that Sivvy's appetite was ever really sated, but fighting the yeti had certainly worked it up into a proper frenzy. Happily following him toward a specific food vendor with their hands clasped easily between them, she eyed the menu like a starved fox might a cornered rabbit, then turned those same eyes on the poor man awaiting what he thought would be an easy order.

Soon the two were walking away, Artemis with his order and Sivvy with hers. She'd had to reclaim her hand from him to hold her large container of sweet, buttery croissants, delicate crepes with strawberry jam, and beignets heaped with powdered sugar. Her arm balanced it while that same hand had a milky coffee steaming in it, freeing her other hand to snatch and devour her Minstrel snacks with her normal level of strangely efficient gusto. "Mmmm..." she hummed happily, her normally stoic expression melting into the blissful one she usually only displayed when eating or shopping. Her eyes crinkled and her lips turned up into a smile. There was even a little extra bounce in her step. Unlike usual, she'd share with her red-wine-head friend if he wished to nibble, though she was a little protective over the strawberry jam-filled crepes.

Luckily, just as she finished off the last of her goodies and tossed out the trash, a man came rushing at the pair with panic in his face. "Y-You two!" he huffed, stumbling to a halt before them and bending in half to rest his hands on his knees. His breathing was labored and his aging face was flushed. "Please! My daughter...My daughter is missing!" the father cried out, finally able to right himself. "I've searched everywhere! She was with my granddaughter and I thought they had just lost track of time with all the activities, but when the monsters attacked and I ran to find them, I only found my granddaughter wandering by herself!" the grandparent explained, motioning to an older woman clutching a sobbing little girl at a slower pace. "Once she calmed down, she said she and her mom had been sledding near the edge of the woods. My daughter's sled went into the trees a little, but when she went to look for her mom, there was only the sled and some broken branches and then an ice monster tried to grab her and she ran! I think--" he broke off, motioning for his wife to hold back so the child couldn't hear his bleak theory, "I think one of those monsters from earlier took my daughter! I saw you two take them down...Please! Please find my daughter! I don't think my family can handle any more loss!" begged the stranger desperately, reaching forward to clasp one of Sivvy's hands.

Sivvy was silent through the story, the pleased expression from seconds earlier melting back into nothingness. Her brows and mouth set into tense lines while her eyes sharpened to that of a highly efficient, goal-oriented warrior. Red eyes shifted from the elder man to the gray-headed woman hugging the blonde child tightly in the distance. They then darted in the direction of the treeline the Yeti had emerged from before finally resting on Artemis. They had never worked together on purpose before. Even the enemies they'd fought at the festivals had been taken care of individually within eyeshot, but that was hardly actual cooperation. As such, the ambassador wouldn't answer for him. "Try not to worry, sir. I'll find your daughter," the clone responded in a serious tone, offering no more words other than that. In typical Sivvy fashion, the young woman immediately stepped away from Artemis and ran off on the quickest route back to where they had fought, making a beeline straight into the woods.

Sivvy had answered like she had no doubt she'd find the woman one way or another because, honestly, she had no intention of failing. If it took her hours or days, she would find out what happened to the mother. It wasn't her place to hope, but she'd prefer to return with the daughter alive, and that meant she had to take immediate action. There was no telling how long those monsters would allow her to live, especially since Sivvy couldn't begin to guess why they would take her to begin with. They'd had her too long already.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

As they stood huddled together in the winter breeze, Artemis managed to force his burger down completely. Following Sivvy in her act of throwing the wrapper into the bin. It was at this point a desperate shout caught their attention. Artemis stared in surprise as he rushed over to them, haggard and out of breath. The words his spoke would immediately cause Artemis to stiffen, listening as he continued to explain his predicament. Explaning how during the monster attacks earlier, his daughter she was snatched by one of them. He glanced at Sivvy, he had no qualms about the job. But he didn't want to jade her but allowing this to ruin their time together, cautious after last time when Morte had taken over and spent time with Sivvy instead. But it seemed that Sivvy had made her decision, as she told the man her intentions. Artemis grinned, before stepping towards the man, patting him on the shoulder. "Stay here so we can find you after, and alert the authorities, just in case." He told him, before turning away. Kicking off to follow Sivvy, quickly breaking into a run after her.

He picked up his speed in order to catch up, taking their separation as a chance to address an already pressing concern. I' going to need your magic Morte. And this time you need to keep me in control. Especially after the lie you told her. He instructed firmly, he felt Morte's magic beginning to simmer through him. Worry not boy, I have no intentions of shining a light on our deception. Just keep your emotions in check, otherwise, it will still be possible that my magic might overwhelm you. He would warn in return. It was a strange relief to the man, knowing that for once he'd be able to go all out without fear of Morte. It would make fighting any monsters a lot easier for him, and Sivvy wouldn't question it either. He didn't like the fact that he'd been forced to lie to her, but at present, he wasn't physically able to tell her the truth. Maybe one day, things could be different, if he could find a way to do so.

As he caught up to Sivvy, he would run alongside her. "Hope you don't mind company." He commented to her, as they ran. Fortunately no that it was just the two of them, he didn't have to magically suppress his demonic senses. It was a little too chaotic in crowds, all the sounds and smells could overwhelm him normally. Which was why he had to limit himself in such public places, magically numbing himself. But this wasn't necessary here, so as he paced the snowy woods, he would ease off his limiters. Allowing the sensations to flood him. The main scent he picked up was Sivvy, running alongside him, the sound of her determined sprint thundering in his ears. Then there was the distance smells and sounds of the festival behind him, which even at the stretch they'd created between it, was still within sensory reach. Then there were other things; the smell of the earth, the crunch of the untouched snow beneath their feet, the snippets of animals hibernating in their burrows. Nothing different for a while, until finally, something caught his scent. Something very familiar. "Blood." He said suddenly, "Siv, I smell blood, this way!" He said, moving in the direction the lingering copper scent was coming from.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

"Aww you worry about me?" He quipped in a teasing tone, waggling his brows at her. She was very serious right now, but he know it was because she was focused on the task at hand. Sivvy was just very efficient that way. He could be when he wanted to be, like when he was The Chairman, but he didn't want to take on that person on too much around Sivvy. One because he liked to keep each of those parts of his life separate, and two because she had met that side of him before. During another festival, although it was slim, there was a chance she might pick up on the similarities. And Sivvy finding out about Hidden Blades, well that just wasn't an option.

After scenting the blood , Artemis would strive to push himself faster. Straining his muscles which ached to be fuelled with demonic energy, her breathing becoming more ragged as he flew through the trees. His feet stomping through the forest along Sivvy. The sight of red reaching his crimson irises, patterning the white blankets of land ahead of them. He growled in the back of his throat, fearing that Sivvy might be right. He could hear sounds too, a mixture of different noises from various sources; growling, smashing, whimpering.

He burst into a clear, stopping breathing as he set his sights on the chaos. It was madness, a familiar madness. A horde of monsters of all different sorts; crazed elves, white polar bears, and moving Christmas trees. He remembered these creatures from last year, when they had attacked all over Earthland. He had been forced to go defend the Dagger Corp Headquarters in crocus alongside Del, or 'Damian' as he had gone by on that day. Before Artemis could look for the missing child, he caught sight of a polar bear bounding towards him, feral fangs bared. Immediately Artemis raised his palm, demonic energy shifting through his body and pooling in his hand. He would fire off a quick succession of black orbs of energy that would smash into the polar bear head on. The force of the magic crushing it's skull in seconds and killing it instantly.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

"Afraid not Siv, I've seen this before. Last year I fought off the same creatures in Crocus." He called to her, all the while talking he would swing her out outwards, firing off another melee of shots aimed at the devilish imps that were 'Santa's Elves', taking out several of them at once. It went to show how much he had grown in a year, the orbs were even more destructive than the last time he had faced these Christmas pests. The orb disintegrating the elves completely, leaving nothing but piles of ash where they had been running moments prior.

Artemis launched himself further into the field, his magic coalescing into a thorned whip. He launched the whip at another polar bear, binding its body with the magical vine. He would allow it to tighten around its white body, before yanking the end of the whip firmly all the while manipulating it to tighten it's grip on the winter mammal. The bear roared as its body was crushed under the thorny binds, its bones snapping under the pressure and rendering it dead in moments.

Artemis turned to double-check on Sivvy, seeing her running through a gaggle of elves, he saw the tree looming towards her. The presents flying through the air, he opened his mouth to warn her quickly running across the grounds in an attempt to close the distance between them. The last time he had fought these monsters he fallen victim to the Christmas presents that the tree launched and been frozen in place for the remainder of the fight. He was barely a few metres away as her name left his lip, he would see her fist fly towards one of the presents as he realised a resounding; "NO!"  in her direction. The present exploded around the pinkette and seconds later the effects of the gift would show itself. Only it was nothing like Artemis expected, as his ruby eyes trailed over Sivvy, blood would surge through his body and for very new, and unanticipated reasons.

Her smooth skin, her delicate curves, and immaculate figure; all of it was on show with not a strip of fabric in sight to conceal her. He stopped running, frozen in place with utter shock, his eyes gliding over her assets with awe. Despite everything he had told himself about Sivvy and his relationship being nothing more than a platonic friendship at this point he could not resist what happened next. A smirk crept across the man's lip and he would raise his brows as he eyed her with both amusement and admiration. "Well damn, this is a very Merry Christmas."

BANG!

And of course, it was his moment of masculine distraction that had left him wide open to be struck with his own Christmas present. Following the striking of which, he would too feel the cold breeze over his bare flesh, as his body was also exposed to her and so she would see him in all his well-sculpted and excited glory.

Every inch of him.

---

Don't be afraid to catch feels, ride drop top and chase thrills,
Baby, I know you ain't scared to catch feels, feels with me
Artemis Dagger

To say that Artemis wasn't used to being stared at in this way would be untrue, when in actuality, he was quite accustomed to it from the opposite sex. Even so, he hadn't quite been expecting the possibility that Sivvy would be staring at his manhood in this way, particularly considering the fact they were fighting monsters in the middle of a white forest. But at the very least, even in this cold weather, his body hadn't failed him. Despite knowing full well that he was by no means meagre, it was still enjoyable to hear that she found him impressive in that department. He would feel himself twitch under her gaze, parts of him longed to show her just what he could do. But there were so many reasons he couldn't; for one, their relationship just didn't have that physicality and two, because there were giant ass monsters that needed to get wrecked.

Speaking of which...

Sivvy had finished off the remainder of the monsters, although there was one beast they hadn't seen. The one who generally finished the fight, Artemis glanced around, there was a moment of quiet now, leaving just the two of them, very much alone and very much naked. He turned his gaze back to Sivvy as she spoke, nodded in agreement. She should be here, this was where her scent stopped and yet as he inspected the scene there was nothing but defeated Christmas beasts. "The last time I saw this, there was a portal and also a giant ass San-"

His words were cut short, the earth began to tremble, softly for a moment and then escalating to great proportions. A full-blown earthquake erupted suddenly, rattling the floor beneath them. Artemis caught sight of the earth splitting, cracking open between them. Instinctively, he threw himself across the gaping hole in the snow, wrapping his arms around the girl and pulling her tight as the ground gave way beneath them. Together they tumbled down through the hole, Artemis threw out his arm pooling Morte's magic into it. His outstretched limb would transform, the skin of his hand and forearm turning black. Scales manifesting across his flesh and the muscle thickening as it was flooded with demonic power. Claws protruding from the cuticles that had once bore human nails would now dig into the earth as an attempt to slow the fall. After a moment, the speed to which they slid would decrease and they would stop falling, his wrist buried deep into the wall of soil.

He hung there for a moment, his other arm holding Sivvy's bare body against his. His breathing ragged from the shock of the descent, he eyed the ground beneath them. It was dark and almost appeared to be endless. "Are you...okay?"" He would ask her, tightening his grip around her for fear of her slipping out of his hold. He looked down once more, considering the situation, they must have fallen at least fifty feet. But why?

He allowed the magic to move towards his eyes, for a moment they would turn completely black, his iris' disappearing completely. His vision would become clearer, enhanced by Morte's magic. "I can see a floor...and I think there might be... a cavern. Yes, I'm sure of it, also..." He paused, listening to the silence around them, before speaking once more. "There's something moving down there." He added, and he could only speculate exactly what it was. There wasn't really any choice, if they wanted to find this girl, they had to go down. "Alright, I'm going to lower us slowly, but I'll need both hands. Siv er...think you can wrap your legs around me? I don't want to drop you."

---